An urgent warning has been issued over salad products at retail giant Tesco because of fears they may be contaminated with salmonella. 

Customers who bought the affected pasta salads are being urged not to eat them and instead to return them to the supermarket for a full refund. 

Tesco said it would be recalling specific date codes of three Tesco Pasta Salads due to the possible presence of found during routine testing.

The meals affected include Tesco Basil Pesto & Semi Dried Tomato Pasta 225g with a use by date of Jul 24 (2025), the Tesco Chicken & Chorizo Pasta 285g with use by dates Jul 24 and Jul 25, and the Tesco Feta Semi Dried Tomato Pasta 290g with the use by date Jul 24.

The notice added: ‘If you have purchased the affected date code of the above product, please do not eat it. Instead, return it to any Tesco store for a full refund. No receipt is required. No other Tesco products are affected by this recall.’

Salmonella can cause diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps and while most recover within a few days, in some cases, diarrhea can cause severe dehydration and require  further medical attention. 

It comes as one person died after eating a contaminated ready meal linked to a rare bacterial outbreak in Ireland.

The outbreak has prompted a nationwide recall of dozens of products sold in major supermarkets.

The death is one of ten confirmed cases of listeriosis, a potentially deadly infection caused by listeria bacteria, identified in what health officials are calling an ‘extensive’ outbreak, centred around a range of pre-prepared dishes produced by Ballymaguire Foods.

The meals, which include lasagnes, pasta bakes, cottage pies and potato sides, were sold in Tesco, SuperValu, Centra and Aldi sold in Ireland.

Supermarket bosses are now scrambling to pull them from shelves amid growing concern for public safety.

Within days of falling ill, one adult died from the infection.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has confirmed that the case is under investigation but, due to patient confidentiality, has declined to release further details.